Operation Overlord represented one of the final, smaller-scale operations undertaken by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader in response to the growing strength of the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the year 1 ABY. Following the pivotal Battle of Yavin, amidst the broader Galactic Civil War, the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance engaged in a struggle to gain control over various urban centers throughout the galaxy. While the Empire held cities such as Bestine, Coronet City, and Theed under its control, Darth Vader would arrive in these three key locations aboard his personal shuttle, the ST 321. Escorted by a contingent of Triumphant-class dark troopers, the Sith Lord sought to bolster support for the Imperial cause and enlist soldiers for perilous missions aimed at undermining the Rebellion. Vader successfully recruited a team of skilled pilots and navigators who were loyal to the Galactic Empire, tasking them with tracking down Rebel military units. These spacers then managed to infiltrate a Rebel Corellian Corvette in the depths of space, where they carried out the assassination of an Admiral serving the Alliance.
Operation Overlord was featured as a mission within the 2003 video game Star Wars Galaxies. This game was a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game that was developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts. The game ran until its servers were shut down on December 15, 2011. This particular quest was integrated into the game through the "Publish 19" update, which was released on June 29, 2005.
During periods when the Empire occupied the cities of Bestine, Coronet, or Theed, Darth Vader would periodically appear in these urban centers. Vader would present players aligned with the Imperial faction with a selection of up to eight distinct quests. Half of these quests were categorized as "Combatant" missions, requiring players to engage with and defeat Rebel non-player characters. The remaining half were designated as "Special Forces" missions, which involved undertaking tasks against players who were aligned with the Rebel cause. Operation Overlord represented the fourth and final Imperial Combatant mission that Imperial players could obtain from Darth Vader.